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Vehicle safety record

1994 Buick Lesabre Problems, complaints & recalls

Owners have filed 171 complaints about the 1994 Buick Lesabre with NHTSA, most often about the engine & cooling (36) and the brakes (30). Those complaints describe 27 crashes, 6 fires and 24 injuries. There are no recalls for it. For comparison, the 1993 has 198 and the 1995 has 181.

NHTSA data checked

FFar more problems than a typical Lesabre year, for its age

#30 most complained-about 1994 vehicle

Complaints
171
Recalls
0
Crashes
27
Fires
6
Injuries
24
Deaths
0

Most common 1994 Buick Lesabre problems

Share of all 171 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.

No recalls for the 1994 Buick Lesabre

NHTSA lists no recalls for the 1994 Buick Lesabre. Recalls can be announced at any time - this page updates daily.

What owners say

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171 complaints about the 1994 Buick Lesabre

Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 7.

SteeringBody, doors & structureEngine & coolingCrash

Tl* the contact owns a 1994 buick lesabre. While driving approximately 40 mph, the contact heard a loud banging noise. The vehicle veered to the left and drove over a median. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to the contact's house. The engine subframe motor mounts fractured and the engine fell to the ground. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repair by the contact. The approximate failure mileage was 96,000.

Filed Incident Steering · Structure · EngineNHTSA 10887402
Electrical systemDriver assistance

In cold weather car won't start checked the lights when I turn the car on it reads, volt and temp obviously battery problems. I got a new battery when I got the car... I got a jump from random person next to my job and car started right up in like 2 minutes and I went home.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Unknown or other · Electronic stability control (ESC)NHTSA 10825001
Seats & seat beltsBody, doors & structure

I was cleaning my 1994 buick lesabre when I noticed a hole in the floor around the rear seatbelt. I'm very worried about this. Will the person sitting in the back seat get hurt or killed if the seatbelt doesn't hold in the event of a accident. Please check into this. I know this is a older veh,but its all I have.I thought that gm would of fixed this by now,or is mine the only one that is rusted? I really do not think that it is the only one. *Tr

Filed Incident Seat belts · StructureNHTSA 10631174
SteeringElectrical systemEngine & cooling

While merging onto i95 north my car shut completely off in the middle of moving traffic. I didn't even realize it was off until my little girl asked me to turn the radio back and my speed begin to decrease. It's very difficult to steer such a huge tank like my lesabre when the power steering gives. It cranks right up after shutting off as if nothing is even wrong, but this has happened always in stop and go traffic. It bothers me because my car is all I have and it's the only transportation that I have for traveling with my little girl. *Tr

Filed Incident Steering · Electrical system · EngineNHTSA 10562310
Electrical system

Vehicle surges and stalls randomly while traveling. Occurs atleast twice daily. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 10421517
Engine & coolingElectrical systemAcceleration & cruise control

Buick lasabre dies on highway while driving. Looses all power causing the driver to have to try to get off the highway while in heavy traffic while under no power. No brakes, power steering . Happens about 8 to 12 times a day. I drive 47 miles to work. Almost got rear ended 8 times, had to make unsafe turns to keep from having a dead car in the middle of the road to get totaled. Replaced coil packs per dealership recommendation. Still dies. Not even the dealership can diagnose the issue. Seems all mechanics want to...

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pick a part to replace at random to see if it fixes the issue. There is no accountability here. Alot of elderly people drive these vehicles and they can't negotiate the car when this happens. When this begins to happen the car suddenly accelerates then sputters and dies. When this starts, if you keep patting the accelerator it sometimes helps to keep the engine running but not always. *Tr

Filed Incident Engine and engine cooling · Electrical system · Vehicle speed controlNHTSA 10353894
Electrical system

Buick lasabre dies on highway while driving. Looses all power causing the driver to have to try to get off the highway while in heavy traffic while under no power. No brakes, power steering . Happens about 8 to 12 times a day. I drive 47 miles to work. Almost got rear ended 8 times, had to make unsafe turns to keep from having a dead car in the middle of the road to get totaled. Replaced coil packs per dealership recommendation. Still dies. Not even the dealership can diagnose the issue. Seems all mechanics want to...

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pick a part to replace at random to see if it fixes the issue. There is no accountability here. Alot of elderly people drive these vehicles and they can't negotiate the car when this happens. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 10353893
Acceleration & cruise control

My 1994 buick lesabre has a runaway accelerator problem, during a slow down or braking condition in gear at random times the engine accelerates the car forward, you must stand on the brakes with high force to bring the car under control and then kill the ignition to avoid an accident. This condition has occurred at cross walks with people crossing, and approaching stop lights, pulling into gas stations ect. Repair shops including buick dealers said they could not duplicate the problem and had no idea what it was. I...

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have eliminated the foot accelerator and the cruise control as the problem. I went online to a troubleshooting site and talked to a buick specific tech who has seen this problem many times before and said the engine control module (ecm) failure was the problem part, and that a diagnostic scan would help in identifying the problem, however after several scans and drive tests the problem was never duplicated or identified. The problem is repeatable at least once a day. I have stopped driving the car because it is unsafe. This problem needs to be identified as a safety issue. Because to date I have not been able find any recalls or dealers willing to acknowledge or discuss this problem. *Tr

Filed Incident Vehicle speed controlNHTSA 10260836
Engine & cooling

Tl*the contact owns a 1994 buick lesabre. The vehicle was purchased in july of 2008 and continues to stall while driving 50 mph or less. The vehicle lost power and the engine completely shut off. The weather conditions were dry. When the failure occurs, the vehicle becomes difficult to control because there is no power steering or braking ability. Occasionally, the vehicle takes longer than a minute to restart. The vehicle has to be towed to the dealer each time. The vehicle is currently at the dealer, but they cannot diagnose the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000. Updated 12/12/08 *cn updated 12/15/08. *Jb

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10249138
Engine & cooling

I am a mechanic and work on cars. I have noticed that the gm cars of the early to mid 90's like the buick le sabre class are have a problem with the heater enclosure in the engine compartment. *Tr the plastic enclosures are cracking and pieces of it are falling off, and if you touch the plastic, is will crumble apart. I fee that this is a serious health hazard, as this will allow the fumes from the engine like exhaust,gas and oil to enter the passenger compartment. Then the occupants will be breathing the fumes. I feel that gm needs to do something about this. *Tr

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10224268
Electrical system

1994 Buick lasabre customer states that they noticed smoke coming from the dome light it was so hot that it melted the light cover and ruined the two sides of the bulb inserts**cc

Filed Electrical systemNHTSA 10186843
Suspension

Dt*: the contact stated that on april 10th 2006 the vehicle was taken into an independent auto shop to shemy the front end alignment as well as replace the right inner tire roads and end bushings. Three weeks prior to service while pulling the vehicle into driveway going 5 mph the front end collapsed. The vehicle was taken to independent auto shop who determined it needed to be taken to the dealer. The dealer determined the vehicle was included in a recall pertaining to lower control arm bracket however the manufacturer refuses to make any repairs to vehicle without a cost. No repairs were made.

Filed Incident SuspensionNHTSA 10160615
Acceleration & cruise control

Vehicle was started and when put into drive it accelerated without the consumer giving the vehicle gas. The problem was intermittent. *Ak

Filed Incident Vehicle speed controlNHTSA 10117527
Engine & cooling

Wife stranded when car overheated. Upon inspection of engine I found that the plastic fitting in the intake manifold had broken off letting all coolant run out. We have been loosing coolant for some time. (A year and a half ago I replaced pump, thermostat and serpentine belt while traveling, but always had a loss of coolant that I could not find. When I called to get a new fitting, the attendant told me what the problem was before I could tell him. He said this happens a lot and that the replacement part is...

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now made out of metal. I have no idea how much damage that this has caused my engine. You can't even see the fitting without a mirror. What a lousy design to use a plastic fitting! It has caused a lot of problems for us. *Jb

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10102730
Engine & cooling

While driving vehicle stalled. Consumer had not had the vehicle serviced, except for the oil being changed.*Ak

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10097853
AirbagsCrash1 injury

While turning left at a stop sign another vehicle come up the hill on the left and collided with consumer's vehicle. Consumer was wearing seat belts, but, the air bags did not deploy. The police did arrive on the seen but nobody was cited. Consumer sustained minor head injuries. *Ak *nm

Filed Incident Air bagsNHTSA 10087520
Body, doors & structure

Paint is starting to peel off on top of car. There has been no damage to this area or any other area of the car. There is no apparent reason for this to happen. *La

Filed Incident StructureNHTSA 10047449
Engine & coolingEquipment & accessories

Smell of gasoline around the car. A check under the hood show drops of gasoline coming from around a small clip in fuel line (top of the engine near the firewall). This is not the first time for me! Last time the fuel was coming out of the clip at a faster rate. Last time I wasn't able to replace the clip without buying an unrelated repair kit (discarding other parts) . I consider the condition, especially when the leak becomes more serious and driving the car for a while, as very serious. *La

Filed Incident Engine and engine cooling · EquipmentNHTSA 10046827
Wheels & tires

Consumer states while looking vehicle over, she noticed cracks between the treads of all four tires. *Ak the consumer noticed the tires were defective due to the cracks that were in the tread. Sears finally replaced the all michelin weatherwise dot hdh3e2px503, but they were still insisting that it was normal weathering even though an employee stated the tire was defective. *Scc *jb

Filed TiresNHTSA 10029748
BrakesElectrical systemAirbagsBody, doors & structureCrash1 injury

The driver rear ended another vehicle while driving. As a result the passenger side air bag deployed and caused burns to the passengers thighs. The fumes emitted from the air bag also caused eye irritation and breathing problems. The passenger has developed asthma and has continued to experience eye irritation. The master cylinder was replaced because it leaked. The calipers were degreased, the alternator was replaced and the drivers side door locks were replaced. *Scc *nlm

Filed Incident Service brakes, hydraulic · Electrical system · Air bags · Latches / locks / linkagesNHTSA 10026600
BrakesAirbagsCrash1 injury

The vehicle was involved in a collision in which the passenger side air bags deployed upwards. *Nlm the consumer slammed on the brakes and they did not respond. The vehicle was totaled and the entire front end was pushed in. The driver side air bags deployed but the passenger side did not, instead it just blew in the consumer's wife's face. (In which she suffered injuries) the brakes had to be cleaned of grease when the consumer first took ownership of the vehicle and a few weeks later the master cylinder had to be replaced. *Scc *jb

Filed Incident Service brakes, hydraulic · Air bagsNHTSA 10020086
Airbags

The dealer refused to remove the driver's side air bag. *Mr *ph *jb

Filed Air bagsNHTSA 10022078
Engine & cooling

The vehicle leaked coolant. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for repairs and the intake manifold was replaced. *Jb

Filed Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10019665
Body, doors & structure

Electric door locks on my 1994 lesabre will not unlock the doors. Took it to the dealer and as soon as I started to describe the problem he laughed and said it would cost $180 per door to fix, and that he had done many of them. My sister and a co-worker also have lesabres and they both have had the exact same problem. Buick has apparently issued a technical service bulletin on this problem but refuses to fix the problem. *Nlm

Filed Incident Latches / locks / linkagesNHTSA 10010167
Equipment & accessories

Consumer states that while they were using the jack it went through the frame off the vehicle. Dealer contacted. Provide more info. Ts

Filed Incident EquipmentNHTSA 8021232

Buick Lesabre: every year compared

YearComplaintsRecallsCrashesFiresTop problemGrade
199841011543Engine & coolingF
199740222633Engine & coolingF
1996101280Engine & coolingF
19951811133AirbagsF
19941710276Engine & coolingF
199319811322BrakesF
199219221923BrakesF
199130113Electrical systemC
199050190Seats & seat beltsF
All Lesabre years

1994 Buick Lesabre vs rivals

More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.

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Questions about the 1994 Buick Lesabre

Does the 1994 Buick Lesabre have any recalls?

NHTSA lists no recalls for the 1994 Buick Lesabre right now. Recalls can be announced at any time, and this page checks NHTSA every day. You can also check your exact vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

What are the most common problems with the 1994 Buick Lesabre?

By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the engine & cooling (36), brakes (30), electrical system (23).

How many complaints has the 1994 Buick Lesabre had?

171 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on May 24, 1994 and the latest on July 21, 2016. Of these, 27 describe a crash and 6 a fire, and together they report 24 injuries and 0 deaths.

Is the 1994 Buick Lesabre a reliable vehicle?

Its Safety Index is 6 out of 100 (grade F: far more problems than a typical Buick Lesabre year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.

Which Buick Lesabre years have the most complaints?
What should I do if my 1994 Buick Lesabre has a problem?

If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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